You are reading the The Beacon Of Truth Daily and see this large
advertisement. You have always had lots of good ideas for making life and
work easier for men. Inspired by your recent research and lessons on
inventors around the turn of the century, you decide to try your hand at the
inventing game in order to claim your fame and fortune. Realizing that two
heads are better than one, you call on your friends to help you! With the
help of your teacher and random selection of the computer, your group
assignments have been made for you (what a relief). Check the board for
your group assignment and move on to the task section of this webquest.

You have formed your group and you are ready to tackle the
task at hand. As a new inventor you know that you will need to complete a
number of
items in order to sell your innovation to this company. Put your heads together and
include the following in your presentation. Tasks should be completed in
the order listed below and each task must be checked off by the teacher before
beginning your next item. Remember "the early bird gets the worm" so use
your group work skills to develop your ideas and come up with a winning
presentation. Outside judges will rate your presentation.

a. Written
description of your invention that covers all items listed in your group's
description. This should be at least 3-5 paragraphs. See
Rubric For Essay.

Your group is assigned to develop an innovation in one of the
three areas below:

Group A: Transportation Innovation

Design what you believe will be the transportation
vehicle of the future. Take into consideration environmental issues, cost
of the vehicle, appearance, power sources, and where you will be able to operate
your vehicle. Be creative and think outside of the box. You are only
limited by your group's imagination.

Group B: Communication Innovation

Staying in touch is so important these days and you suspect it
will only become more important in the future. Design what you believe to
be the ultimate in a communication innovation. Be sure to include
portability, features of the device, users, cost, advantages of the product, and
design.

Group C: Energy
Innovation

Boy, sources of energy have become quite an
issue. Fossil fuels are running dangerously low and a new source of energy
is critical to our future. Since you are a rocket scientist in training,
you have decided that you and your group will explore this area of innovations.
Be sure that your invention is earth and environmentally friendly, can be
readily found on earth, is affordable for most American families, and will
remain plentiful in the future.

Be sure you have reviewed information on these areas of
innovations by visiting some or all of the following websites. It would be
a good idea to draw on the experience of some of the inventors we have discussed
in class. Remember, history and experience are some of the best teachers.
Good luck and surf these sites for idea springboards and information. See
Rubric for Innovation for elements to be included in your innovation.

Students will present the group checklist and final product
of each of the items listed in the task section for review before moving onto
the next assignment. Assignments must be completed in the order listed in
the task section of the webquest.

Students will use the Art Supply Center to check out
materials needed to complete the poster of their innovation and their catchy
slogan.

Students will use classroom computers to construct Power
Point Presentations. These will be saved to a CD and presented on the
White Board to the class. Computers utilizing Microsoft Word will be used
to write and edit the group's paper. All students will turn in the rough
draft and handwritten contributions made toward the completion of the paper.

Rubrics should be consulted before you begin your work.
Your work will be assessed based on these charts. See rubrics below:

This is to certify that you are now an official inventor.
The imagination is an amazing thing-the only limits it knows are the ones that
you place on it. Put your heads together and the sky is the limit.
Try your hand at it, but remember the invention is not officially yours until
you own the patent!

Check out these websites for additional information.
They are packed with information.

This project was designed for a fifth grade US History class.
Students were heterogeneously grouped and worked in randomly selected groups.
Before students attempt this page a careful and thorough understanding of the
word and concept of innovations should be developed. Before this project
was attempted students participated in a 2 day lesson on the innovators of the
turn of the century with a special emphasis on Ford, Bell, and Edison.
Students studied and discussed the common qualities of these innovators,
completed a graphic organizer (web) and two column notes on these
inventors prior to beginning the webquest.